Lake Oswego residents in November will vote on changes to a section of the city's charter that allows just 25 opponents of a street project to force a public vote.

The Lake Oswego City Council on Tuesday approved the language of the measure, which would make it significantly harder to trigger a public vote on new roads or road expansions.

The charter provision, known as Section 40, requires nearby property owners be notified of "major road expansions," defined as any project that makes a road more than 20 feet wide. Anyone who doesn't approve of the expansion can force a public vote by collecting the signatures of 25 registered city voters.

The proposed amendment to the provision would require the signatures of at least three percent of all registered voters, or 758 people currently, to trigger a vote. In addition, "major road expansion" would now be defined as a project that adds one new traffic lane for at least 500 feet.

Section 40 was added to the charter back in 1976, when residents feared a large I-5 to Milwaukie connector would be built through town. The language was modified once in 1980 to its current form.

Last December, a group of 31 voters invoked the provision in an effort to stop the city from expanding two stretches of Goodall Road by about four feet. The petition was sparked after the city required property owners looking to subdivide two lots to pay for the road expansions. The expansions, which were intended for bike safety, required the dedication of a small amount of the private property.

The resulting March special election was estimated to cost as much as $18,000. But in January, eight of the 31 petitioners changed their minds and the measure was dropped.

At a June study session, the city council opted not to repeal the section entirely. Councilor Jeff Gudman said he was afraid full repeal would not pass like in 1998, when voters kept the charter section in place.